Enders’ Patsy renews wedding vows

EastEnder Patsy Palmer has finally had a white wedding 12 years after tying the knot with her husband Richard Merkell.

The couple renewed their vows on a Caribbean beach in a stark contrast to their original wedding which Patsy said was done in “a rush” after the premature birth of her son Fenton.

The redhead told Hello! Magazine: “I’d just given birth to Fenton prematurely at 32 weeks and he had to stay in hospital. We went to register Fenton’s birth at Chelsea Register Office and out of all the gloom and worry we wanted to do something really lovely and get married.

“I was still big from my pregnancy so I didn’t wear a proper wedding dress, just a baggy cotton frock, and we never even bothered with wedding photos.”

She said the recent service was “a celebration of our lives and love for each other” and credited her husband with giving her “the strength and stability” to quit her party lifestyle.

Patsy said: “We wanted a simple but spiritual ceremony with lots of fun and laughter and to take away some really lovely happy memories, as well as make the children feel secure. It was exactly that and more. I feel really blessed.

“I think every married couple should do it every 10 years. It is so easy to get divorced now but much harder to stay married.”